Remembering the lives they lived

Celebrating 23 loved ones lost in 2010

In this last edition of the year, Illinois Times once again takes a loving look back at a few of the Springield-area characters who died during the past year. We say characters because each was unique, each had their own special spark, even four-year-old Joshua Lytle, who loved to sing “Frere Jacques” and who called his mom “Big Mama.” Included here are young and old, the prominent and the private; all were famous to their families and friends. While the causes of death vary – including murder, suicide, car crash and old age – all are missed and grieved. Yet while Springfield feels diminished by these deaths, this issue is intended as a celebration of remarkable lives lived well.

The selections are idiosyncratic. IT staff writers and contributors wrote the nine longer remembrances, while readers contributed the shorter essays. Read together they remind us once again of the contribution of each soul to the rich fabric of life in the capital city.

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Thank you Bill Parker for writing this article about my mother, Frances Richardson. Thank you to all who continue to remember what a remarkable woman she was. I was really missing my mom this week and with all the snow in Chicago I decided to go sledding down the local hill in remembrance of her, she did it all the time, I thought I could do it too, no big deal. Let me tell you, I'm 45 and it hurt, LOL. She was in better shape than any of us. She walked to work, downtown, most days, went to an aerobics class 2x weekly, was a volunteer at Lincoln Memorial Gardens taking school children for hikes through the woods, teaching them about nature. My father and her retired together to Springfield in 1992, that was their little pink cozy house on Illini. This Christmas, my parents were together in Heaven, and we all know that was the one thing missing from her life, she never got over the loss of my dad. Thank you again to all that will never forget her. I try to show kindness to others everyday as she taught me. My mom always told us, her 3 kids, just love one another, be kind, and everything else will work out.

Thank you Bill Parker for writing this article about my mother, Frances Richardson. Thank you to all who continue to remember what a remarkable woman she was. I was really missing my mom this week and with all the snow in Chicago I decided to go sledding down the local hill in remembrance of her, she did it all the time, I thought I could do it too, no big deal. Let me tell you, I'm 45 and it hurt, LOL. She was in better shape than any of us. She walked to work, downtown, most days, went to an aerobics class 2x weekly, was a volunteer at Lincoln Memorial Gardens taking school children for hikes through the woods, teaching them about nature. My father and her retired together to Springfield in 1992, that was their little pink cozy house on Illini. This Christmas, my parents were together in Heaven, and we all know that was the one thing missing from her life, she never got over the loss of my dad in 2000. Thank you again to all that will never forget her. I try to show kindness to others everyday as she taught me. My mom always told us, her 3 kids, just love one another, be kind to others, and everything else will work out.